U.S. patent number 4,523,735 [Application Number 06/574,981] was granted by the patent office on 1985-06-18 for mirror swing lock mechanism.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Delbar Products, Inc.. Invention is credited to Marlin E. Beck, Robert W. McFarland.
United States Patent |
4,523,735 |
Beck , et al. |
June 18, 1985 |
Mirror swing lock mechanism
Abstract
The present invention relates to a mounting mechanism for a
mirror of the type adapted to be supported on an exterior surface
of a vehicle and, more specifically, a mounting mechanism which
allows the mirror and its support mechanism to be swung from its
normal rearward viewing position to prevent damage to the mirror
and its supporting structure.
Inventors: |
Beck; Marlin E. (Allentown,
PA), McFarland; Robert W. (Pennsburg, PA) |
Assignee: |
Delbar Products, Inc.
(Perkasie, PA)
|
Family
ID: |
24298421 |
Appl.
No.: |
06/574,981 |
Filed: |
January 30, 1984 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
248/476;
248/475.1; 248/479 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60R
1/0617 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B60R
1/06 (20060101); A47G 001/24 () |
Field of
Search: |
;248/476,477,478,475.1,479,480,484,486,487,900,205.1 ;350/307 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Foss; J. Franklin
Assistant Examiner: Ramirez; Ramon O.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Reising, Ethington, Barnard, Perry
& Milton
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A mirror swing lock mechanism of the type comprising a bracket
member (24) including a first portion (38) adapted to be secured to
an exterior surface of a vehicle and a second portion (42)
projecting laterally from said first portion, a mirror head
supporting arm (18), a mirror head (14) adjustably supported upon
said arm, pivot means (32) for securing one end of said arm to the
second portion of said bracket member to allow said arm to swing
relative to said bracket member and a detent mechanism for
releasably retaining said arm in a position extending laterally
outwardly from said bracket member for normal rearward viewing, the
improved detent mechanism comprising:
(a) the second portion of said bracket member including
(i) an opening (46) formed therethrough;
(ii) first detent means (48, 50, 52) disposed about said
opening;
(b) a spring member (36) including
(i) a central opening (60) formed therethrough;
(ii) a surface (66) having second detent means (70, 72, 74) formed
therein;
(c) said pivot means including
(i) a head portion (76) adapted to support said spring member such
that the first and second detent means are in a juxtaposed
relationship;
(ii) a stud portion (78, 80) projecting from said head portion and
extending through the openings in said spring member and the
bracket member;
(iii) means (80, 86) for engaging said stud portion to said mirror
head supporting arm for rotation therewith; and
(iv) means (62, 64) interlocking said stud portion and spring
member for rotation together;
the first and second detent means being oriented such that when
they are in a nesting relationship the mirror supporting arm is in
its laterally outwardly extending position for normal rearward
viewing, rotation of said arm from said laterally outwardly
extending position imparting rotation to the stud portion to move
the second detent means out of nesting engagement with the first
detent means.
2. A mirror swing lock mechanism as set forth in claim 1 wherein
said spring member is a deformable and compressible material and is
of a monolithic form.
3. A mirror swing lock mechanism as set forth in claim 2 wherein
rotation of the spring member relative to the bracket causes the
adjacent spring material to deform as the first and second detent
means move out of nesting engagement.
4. A mirror swing lock mechanism as set forth in claim 1 in which
said spring member is of toroidal shape and includes upper and
lower faces (66 and 68), said second detent means being formed in
one of said faces.
5. A mirror swing lock mechanism of the type set forth in claim 1
wherein said first and second detent means are of a flat V
cross-section wherein the legs of the V make an acute angle of not
more than 30.degree. to the respective adjacent surfaces of the
bracket and spring member.
6. A mirror swing lock mechanism of the type set forth in claim 1
wherein said spring member is formed of a non-metallic material
having a D scale durometer in the range of 50 to 75.
7. A mirror swing lock mechanism of the type set forth in claim 1
wherein said spring member is formed of a resiliently deformable
non-foam urethane material.
8. A mirror swing lock mechanism of the type set forth in claim 1
wherein said spring member is of cylindrical shape and includes a
pair of axially spaced surfaces (66, 68), said second detent means
formed in one of said surfaces, said second detent means containing
the surface being resiliently deformed relative to the other of
said pair of surfaces by said first detent means as said spring
member rotates relative to the bracket member.
9. A mirror swing lock mechanism of the type set forth in claim 8
wherein said spring member is formed of a non-metallic material
having a D scale durometer in the range of 50 to 75.
10. A mirror swing lock mechanism of the type set forth in claim 8
wherein said spring member is formed of a resiliently deformable
non-foam urethane material having a D scale durometer in the range
of 50 to 75.
11. A mirror swing lock mechanism as set forth in claim 1 wherein
the interlocking means comprises a plurality of recesses (62)
extending radially from the central opening in the spring member
and a plurality of projections (64) extending radially from the
stud portion of the pivot means, said projections extending within
said recesses.
12. A mirror swing lock mechanism of the type comprising a bracket
member (24) including a first portion (38) adapted to be secured to
an exterior surface of a vehicle and a second portion (42)
projecting laterally from said first portion, a mirror head
supporting arm (18), a mirror head (14) adjustably supported upon
said arm, pivot means (32) for securing one end of said arm to the
second portion of said bracket member to allow said arm to swing
relative to said bracket member, said pivot means including a
detent mechanism for releasably retaining said arm in a position
extending laterally outwardly from said bracket member for normal
rearward viewing, the improved detent mechanism comprising:
(a) the second portion of said bracket member including
(i) an opening (46) formed therethrough;
(ii) detent projection means (48, 50, 52) disposed about said
opening;
(b) a spring member (36) including
(i) a central opening (60) formed therethrough;
(ii) a surface (66) having detent recess means (70, 72, 74) formed
therein;
(c) said pivot means including
(i) a head portion (76) adapted to support said spring member such
that the detent projection means and the spring surface are always
in an abutting relationship;
(ii) a stud portion (78, 80) projecting from said head portion and
extending through the openings in said spring member and the
bracket member;
(iii) means (80, 86) for engaging said stud portion to said mirror
head supporting arm for rotation therewith;
(iv) means (62, 64) interlocking said stud portion and spring
member for rotation together;
the spring detent recess means and the bracket detent projection
means being oriented such that when the latter is in nesting
engagement within the former the mirror supporting arm is in its
laterally outwardly extending position for normal rearward viewing,
rotation of said arm from said laterally outwardly extending
position imparting rotation to the spring member to move the spring
detent recess out of nesting engagement with the bracket detent
projection means.
13. A mirror swing lock mechanism as set forth in claim 12 wherein
said spring member is a deformable and compressible material and is
of a monolithic form.
14. A mirror swing lock mechanism as set forth in claim 13 wherein
rotation of the spring member relative to the bracket causes the
adjacent spring material to deform and at least partially surround
the detent projection means.
15. A mirror swing lock mechanism as set forth in claim 12 in which
said spring is of toroidal shape and includes upper and lower
faces, said detent recess means being formed in one of said
faces.
16. A mirror swing lock mechanism as set forth in claim 12 wherein
the centers of the detent projections are circumferentially spaced
at 120.degree. from each other and the detent recesses are also
circumferentially spaced at 120.degree. from each other.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a mounting mechanism for a mirror
of the type adapted to be supported on an exterior surface of a
vehicle and, more specifically, a mounting mechanism which allows
the mirror and its support mechanism to be swung from its normal
rearward viewing position to prevent damage to the mirror and its
supporting structure.
BACKGROUND ART
Mirror mechanisms of the type to which the subject invention
generally relates are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,119,591 Malecki and
3,730,474 Bowers both of which are assigned to the assignee of the
present invention. Mirror mounting mechanisms of the type to which
the aforenoted patents as well as the subject invention relate have
come to be termed "mirror swing lock mechanisms" which generally is
intended to describe a mirror mounting mechanism wherein the mirror
is normally positioned in a laterally extended position for normal
rear viewing but which mechanism also permits the mirror support
structure to be swung about a pivot axis to a position in which the
mirror and mounting mechanism are generally flat against the side
of the vehicle to prevent the former from being damaged. Such swing
lock mechanisms also include detent devices which locate the mirror
support arm in its normal laterally extended position for rearward
viewing through the mirror.
In general, such swing lock mechanisms are used with larger mirrors
of the type used on various types of trucks or heavy duty vehicles.
Such truck mirrors are particularly susceptible to damage since
they normally are mounted so as to extend laterally a considerable
distance from the vehicle to permit adequate rear view sighting.
Such truck mirrors are subject to being damaged by striking objects
either during normal operation of the vehicle or when the vehicle
is being itself transported. In either case, it is desirable that
the mirror support mechanism fold back against the vehicle under
conditions when it either strikes an object or to prevent it from
otherwise being damaged during transportation of the vehicle
itself.
Prior type mirror swing lock mechanisms have been less than
completely satisfactory for several reasons. First, such mechanisms
have been relatively complicated and have involved numerous parts
which, in turn, have made such mechanisms difficult to assemble
and, therefore, costly. Thus, it is applicants' first object to
greatly simplify such a swing lock mechanism. Next, there have been
relatively severe size constraints involved in designing such swing
lock mechanisms and which constraints have limited spring sizes
and, therefore, spring forces which may be utilized in holding the
mirror arm in its laterally outwardly extended position in such a
way as to prevent vibration and thereby assure a sharp image being
viewed in the mirror. It is thus another object of the present
invention to utilize a unique detent mechanism which enables the
use of a spring having substantially greater mirror restraining
force than has been possible in the past.
Such mirror swing lock mechanisms may not be utilized for long
periods of time after being installed on a vehicle. Since such
mechanisms have heretofore been entirely made of metal components,
such components are subject to corrosion or rusting thereby
inhibiting the protective actuation of such mechanism. Accordingly,
it is a further objective of the present invention to incorporate a
non-metallic spring element in the detent mechanism to eliminate
such corrosion lock-up and further to provide an inherent lubricity
and smoothness of action to the swing lock mechanism.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The mirror swing lock mechanism of the subject invention comprises
a bracket member including a first portion adapted to be secured to
an exterior surface of a vehicle and a second portion projecting
laterally from said first portion. A mirror head is adapted to be
adjustably mounted on a support arm which, in turn, is secured to
the second portion of the bracket member through a suitable pivot
means which allows the mirror and support arm to swing relative to
the bracket member. A detent mechanism is provided for releasably
retaining the mirror support arm in a position extending laterally
outwardly from said bracket member for normal rearward viewing. The
improvement of the subject invention is in the detent mechanism
which comprises: the second portion of said bracket member having
an opening therethrough and first detent means disposed about said
opening; a spring member including a central opening formed
therethrough and a surface having second detent means formed
therein; and said pivot means including a head portion adapted to
support said spring member such that the first and second detent
means are in a juxtaposed relationship, a stud portion projecting
from said head portion and extending through the openings in said
spring member and bracket member, means for fastening said stud
portion to said mirror head supporting arm for rotation therewith,
and said stud portion and spring member being interconnected for
rotation together. The first and second detent means are oriented
such that when they are in a nesting relationship the mirror
supporting arm is in its laterally outwardly extending position for
normal rearward viewing. Rotation of said mirror supporting arm
from said laterally outwardly extending position imparts rotation
to the stud portion to move the second detent means out of nesting
engagement with the first detent means.
The details of the invention are set forth in the drawings and the
detailed description which follows.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
Reference is now made to the drawings and following description
wherein the invention is described in detail.
FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a mirror support mechanism
embodying applicants' new and improved swing lock mechanism;
FIG. 2 is a partially sectioned enlargement showing the various
elements of the swing lock mechanism;
FIG. 3 is a bottom view of an upper bracket member including the
detent means which form a part of the swing lock mechanism;
FIG. 4 is a view along line 4--4 of FIG. 3 showing the radially
transverse details of one of the detent members of the upper
bracket member;
FIG. 5 is a view along line 5--5 of FIG. 3 showing a longitudinal
or circumferential section through one of the bracket detent
means;
FIG. 6 is a plan view of the non-metallic spring element of the
detent mechanism;
FIG. 7 is a view along line 7--7 of FIG. 6 showing a
cross-sectional view of the detent mechanism spring member;
FIG. 8 is a view along line 8--8 of FIG. 6 showing a sectional view
through one of the detent recess means formed in the spring
member;
FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the non-metallic spring member;
FIG. 10 is a fragmentary view through the detent mechanism showing
the detent recess means of the spring member moved out of nesting
engagement with the detent projection formed in the upper bracket
member which occurs when the mirror, supporting arm is moved out of
its laterally extended, rearward viewing position;
FIG. 11 is an elevational view of the pivot member of the detent
mechanism;
FIG. 12 is a plan view along line 12--12 of FIG. 11;
FIG. 13 is a modified form of spring mechanism utilizing a pair of
detent means rather than the three detent means shown in the
previous drawings; and
FIG. 14 is an exploded view showing the various elements of the
mirror arm detent mechanism.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Reference is now made to FIG. 1 of the drawings wherein a side wall
of a vehicle is indicated at 10 and which wall is usually part of
the vehicle door. A mirror assembly is indicated generally at 12
and includes a mirror member 14 adjustably mounted through a
suitable ball joint type stud 16 to a generally C-shaped supporting
arm 18 which includes an upper arm portion 20 and a lower arm
portion 22. The mirror supporting arm 18 is pivotally and swingably
mounted to the vehicle wall 10 through suitable upper and lower
bracket members 24 and 26 and their associated pivot members.
As shown in FIG. 1, the mirror 14 and its support arm 18 are
positioned in the laterally extended position for normal rearward
viewing. To prevent damage to the mirror and its support mechanism,
mirror support arm 18 is adapted to swing either rearwardly or
forwardly about the bracket pivots to move the support mechanism
toward a non-viewing position generally flat against the vehicle
surface.
The pivot means for the upper bracket 24 is incorporated in a
detent mechanism indicated generally at 30 and shown in assembled
detail in FIG. 2 of the drawings. The detent mechanism involves
coaction between the upper portion 20 of mirror supporting arm 18,
upper bracket 24, a pivot member 32 and its associated tightening
nut 34, and a spring member 36.
The details of the upper bracket member will now be described
particularly in relationship to the views of FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 5
of the drawings. Upper bracket 24 is generally of an L-shaped
construction and includes an upstanding leg portion 38 adapted to
be secured to vehicle wall 10 through a suitable nut and bolt means
40. Bracket 24 also includes a generally laterally extending
portion 42 the outermost end portion 44 of which turns downwardly
to generally enclose spring member 36.
As best seen in FIG. 3, laterally extending portion 42 of bracket
24 includes a central opening 46 formed therethrough and has, in a
preferred embodiment, three detent elements 48, 50, and 52 disposed
thereabout. The detent elements 48, 50, and 52 are of identical
construction and are formed by stamping bracket portion 42 whereby
the detent members project downwardly from the undersurface of the
bracket. While one or more detent members may be utilized, it is
found that the use of three detent members seems to provide maximum
stability for the detent mechanism. Again as best seen in FIG. 3,
the detent elements 48, 50, and 52 are generally concentrically
arranged around the bracket opening 46. For reasons which will
subsequently be made clear, each of the detent members in what may
best be termed as its longitudinal or circumferential
cross-section, as best seen in FIG. 5, is in the form of a flat
V-shape so as to provide what may be termed flat angle ramp
portions 54 and 56. Detent ramp portions 54 and 56 form acute
angles of less than 30.degree. from the plane of bracket portion 42
to provide smooth movement into and out of nesting engagement with
the corresponding recesses formed in spring 36. A transverse or
radial section through the apices of the flat angle ramp sections
is shown in FIG. 4.
In the past, swing lock mechanisms have generally employed metallic
spring elements in the detent mechanism and which metallic spring
elements have either been of a coil or Belleville washer type. As
seen in the earlier mentioned prior art patents, Belleville type
springs have been preferred because they could be made in a
generally flatter configuration than a corresponding strength coil
spring. It is a unique feature of the subject swing lock mechanism
that a non-metallic and monolithic spring member 36 is utilized and
which spring member provides a spring force substantially greater
than that achievable with either a Belleville or coil spring of
corresponding vertical size.
Particularly as seen in FIGS. 6 through 9, spring member 36 is a
monolithic or one-piece plastic member formed of a toroidal shape
and includes a central opening 60 formed therethrough. It is
necessary that spring member 36 be both resiliently compressible as
well as deformable in a manner that the material recovers to its
original shape after deformation. The material for spring member 36
preferred by applicants is a non-foamed or non-cellular urethane
such as marketed by the Upjohn Company under the trademark
"PELLETHANE". This particular urethane material features high
mechanical strength, good abrasion resistance, and the ability to
produce a high spring force. The preferred hardness of the urethane
material as used in the subject invention is 63.+-.4 on the
Durometer, D scale.
The spring force of the urethane spring member 36 as compared with
a similar size metal spring is as follows: assuming both a metal
spring and the urethane spring 36 having an uncompressed height or
vertical thickness of 11/2 inches when each compressed to a height
of 11/4 inches results in a metal spring force of 350 lbs. while
the urethane spring generates a force of 1000 lbs. The obvious
advantage of the greater spring force is to maintain the mirror
supporting structure more firmly so as to prevent unnecessary
vibration of the mirror.
Referring further to the details of construction of spring member
36, central opening 60 of spring 36 is of cylindrical shape and
also includes a plurality of vertically extending, recessed wedge
portions 62 which are adapted to coact with corresponding
projecting wedge sections 64 formed on pivot member 32 to permit
the pivot member and the spring member to rotate together as will
be subsequently described.
Spring member 36 includes a pair of spaced and generally planar
surfaces 66 and 68. The upper surface 66 has detent recesses 70,
72, and 74 formed therein and which recesses correspond in shape to
that of the detent elements formed in the bottom surface of bracket
portion 42. The detent recesses of spring member 36 correspond in
number and angular location to the detent projections of bracket
24.
Before describing the coaction between the detent projections and
detent recesses, we shall complete the description of the pivot
member 32 as well as the manner in which the parts are
assembled.
Referring particularly to FIGS. 11, 12, and 14, pivot member 32
includes an enlarged head or base portion 76 which as seen in FIGS.
2 and 14, is adapted to support the spring member 36. An enlarged
cylindrical portion 78 extends upwardly from pivot arm head portion
76 and corresponds in diametral size to that of the central opening
60 formed in spring member 36. As noted, pivot member 32 also
includes four upwardly extending wedge portions 64 which are
adapted to coact with the recessed wedge portions 62 of spring
member 36 to create a rotary driving relationship between the pivot
member and the spring member. A short and slightly tapered portion
80 of a square cross-section extends upwardly from the cylindrical
portion 78 of the pivot arm which terminates in a threaded end
portion 82.
Reference is now made to FIG. 14 which shows an exploded view of
the various components of the mirror swing arm and detent mechanism
which, when assembled, appear as shown in FIG. 2. The parts are
assembled as follows: first, the spring member 36 slides over the
pivot member 32 such that the pivot member wedge projections 64 and
the spring member wedge recesses 62 are in registry. Next, the
assembled pivot and spring members are inserted through the central
opening 46 in bracket portion 42 such that the detent projections
and recesses are in a nesting relationship as indicated in FIGS. 2,
4, and 5 of the drawings. As thus far assembled, the threaded and
square portions 82 and 80 of the pivot member 32 project above
portion 42 of bracket member 24. A thin washer member 84 is placed
upon the upper surface of bracket portion 42 so as to surround the
portions of the pivot member which project above the bracket
member. Portion 20 of bracket arm 18 includes a square opening 86
corresponding in size and shape to the square portion 80 of the
pivot member 32. Thus, as the mirror support arm 18 rotates, it in
turn rotates the pivot member 32. A second washer 88 is placed
about threaded portion 82 of the pivot member with nut member 34
finally threaded thereon to retain the components in the assembled
relationship shown in FIG. 2. With the parts as assembled and as
heretofore described, it is apparent that rotation of mirror
support arm 18 will impart corresponding rotation to pivot member
32 and spring member 36.
Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 10 of the drawings, the detent action
will now be described in further detail. With the detent
projections 48, 50, and 52 of bracket portion 42 in nesting
relationship with the detent recesses 70, 72, and 74 of spring
member 36, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the mirror support arm 18 is
positioned in its laterally outwardly extending position of FIG. 1,
to permit normal rearward viewing through mirror 14. As for example
when mirror support arm 18 is forced to swing rearwardly about its
bracket pivots, and as best seen by reference to FIG. 10, spring
member 36 is rotated relative to bracket 24 whereby the spring
detent recess members are moved out of nesting engagement with the
detent projections of bracket portion 42. When it is once again
desired to return the mirror support arm 18 to its normal outwardly
extending position, the arm is simply rotated toward its outward
position until the recess projections and recesses return to a
nesting relationship at which time the mirror support arm is firmly
held in its laterally extending position.
The force with which spring member 36 is held against bracket
portion 42 is initially determined by the degree to which nut 34 is
threaded onto threaded portion 82 of the pivot arm 32 to move the
spring into engagement with bracket portion 42. The spring engaging
pressure is set when the detent projections and recesses are in a
nesting relationship to be certain that when the mirror support arm
is in its laterally extended position the assembly will be securely
supported.
Referring again to FIG. 10, it should be noted that as the spring
member 36 rotates to move the detent recesses out of nesting
engagement with the bracket detent projections, the bracket portion
42 does not deflect upwardly and may be considered to be rigid in
relationship to spring member 36. Thus, with the relative movement
of the spring member 36 relative to the bracket 24, the urethane
spring material flows or is deformed by the detent projections
returning its normal configuration as the spring material moves out
of engagement with the detent projections. As illustrated in FIG.
10, the urethane spring material actually flows around that portion
of the detent projections which are in engagement with the spring
material.
It is also to be noted that the detent projections 48, 50, and 52
are always in engagement with the upper surface 66 or recesses 70,
72, 74 of spring member 36 to maintain a resistance to rotation of
mirror support arm 18 relative to bracket 24. Thus, a spring force
is exerted on mirror support arm 18 in any angular position thereof
relative to bracket 24. While an unusually strong spring force is
generated by spring 36, the inherent lubricity thereof results in a
very smooth detent action.
FIG. 13 depicts a modified spring member 90 wherein two detent
recess portions 92 and 94 are formed therein rather than the three
recesses utilized in the modification of spring member 36. It is to
be understood that with a two-detent recess spring member such as
shown in FIG. 13, the bracket member would be correspondingly
stamped to provide two rather than three detent projections.
Other modifications of the subject invention may be made within the
intended scope of the hereinafter appended claims.
* * * * *